I agree that we think we are talking about the same thing, but the release from BBRY is vague enough that it opens up more questions than answers. If it is this new super network, why would there be a limit of 30K devices? That makes no sense.

The release said, DISA is architecting the capacity to support 10,000 BlackBerry 10 smartphones by this fall and 30,000 by the end of 2013 on DoD networks. Which of course does not take into account 2014 or 2015 or......

The contract also calls for DMI to set up and operate a mobile software applications store for use by Defense users.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a speech Thursday at the Brookings Institution that “a federated app store will allow any DoD user to write and share phone and tablet apps. By using off-the-shelf technology, we are bringing the full force of the tech revolution into the classified environment.”

Dempsey said Defense is “building a secure 4G wireless network that will get iPads, iPhones, and Android devices online by mid-2014.” Mobile technology will “help us pioneer a new era of mobile command and control. This revolution will empower our greatest resource—the ingenuity of our people—and the philosophy of mission command we embrace,” Dempsey said.

When the Pentagon released its mobile device plan in February, Teri Takai, Defense’s chief information officer, said “the application of mobile technology into global operations, integration of secure and non-secure communications, and development of portable, cloud-enabled capability will dramatically increase the number of people able to collaborate and share information rapidly.”

Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins, DISA director, noted the security the new system will offer: “With the mobile device management system and mobile application store, we will be able to manage devices and the applications that our warfighters use while ensuring our networks and information are secure and protected.”

DISA said it planned to use mobile device management software to act as a “traffic cop” for mobile phones and computers connected to its network when it launched the procurement last October.

The management software, DISA said, should institute “policy, security and permissions that define the functions the user is enabled to conduct on the mobile device. This capability ensures the security of the entire user community is not compromised by an incorrectly configured device.”

DISA also wanted software that could remotely wipe software on any tablet or phone connected to its networks.

The management software will also allow Defense to distribute applications from the app store over-the-air and “update and delete applications on the mobile device without the mobile device user having to return the device for service,” DISA said.

The management software should support 100,000 smartphones or tablets in the first year of operation and 300,000 in the third year, or all Defense mobile users, DISA said.

Ok gang, I have to step out for a bit. Hopefully we'll get some positive earth shaking news overnight that will spark some fire under this SP.

OK. Here ya go.

Is Teslas Elon Musk the new Steve Jobs?

Elon Musk is beginning to exude hints of Steve Jobs. Like Apples late chief executive, the boss of Tesla Motors crafts an impressive product. Now hes gaining a reputation for beating earnings estimates. There is, however, a big difference in how shareholders have rewarded the two mens work.

I ******* love this place. Seriously, some posters need to just go back to the shadow they came from. If you can't have a intelligent conversation about active news releases without going back 10 pages to refute a post, don't bother showing up.

The post I responded to was made 26 hours prior. Do you feel that is an unreasonably long time period? I occasionally have other tasks to attend to like eating, sleeping, working etc. If there is some forum rule I am unaware of regarding time to respond I would appreciate it if you could let me know what it is. Cannot seem to find it myself.

Regarding today's press release from BBRY. I prefer not to comment without knowing more about the issue, however if you insist:
Is it not bad news for BBRY stock if this good news (I will assume it is good news) results in no appreciable bump in the share price?
Open $9.21. Close 9.23. A 0.2% increase.

Edit: as I press post, after hours trading has the share value at 9.22. Make that a 0.1% increase.

Do you think he knows more about the DoD than someone who was part of it?

I am not questioning your dedication to this topic nor your experience. at the same times I am not going to question George's comments. I am going to take every argument (which I respectfully appreciate in this case) and make my own decision. I know for sure that objective of new technology is to solve the impossible. and blackberry is leading just fine if we all allow it.

First, I know iTunes won't be available. But if you read the posts from DISA, the application store will be provided by the contractor.

Second, as I just edited, there is a chance, based on the small numbers of units, that this is for some type of specific secure network.

Third, I've carried an Army issued Blackberry. I was not allowed, by policy, to add anything to the phone.

Fourth, and finally, I've posted this before and I'll say it one last time. I hope to be shown wrong. But, based on my years of history vs what was said by a BBRY spokesperson, I'll stand by with a bit of disbelief until I see it. Sorry. Not looking for a fight. I just thought a balanced look at this was better.

I don't deny your your experience, but I believe that all the experience was during a time when NOTHING LIKE 'BALANCE' EXISTED ?

Going by your argument, Balance has no relevance?

The sole purpose of Balance, as I understand it, is so that a user can use a phone like everyone else with all the features, and the same time, have the security that any enterprise would like to have for its users/employees.

WHY would DoD test/approve Balance if they were simply not going to use it?

I am sure they spend a lot of $$$ and resources on testing these things, and if they didn't intend to take advantage of Balance, would they go through the ordeal in the first place and grant it a seal of approval?

Respect your experience, but this is just how I see it.

With regards to the numbers, (10000/30000), does anyone expect anyone to start off with hundreds of thousands of devices with a totally new concept (Balance), and a brand new management system (BES10), which have been available for only a few months ????

I don't believe anyone in their right minds would have expected DoD to announce -"from tomorrow, we will be using this brand new xxx system on 200,000 of our devices for a start. "

Of course Balance has relevance. I think it will be great for non-DOD enterprise. That said, DoD tests all kinds of things that they never use. Heck, they spend billions on things that they never buy. Comanche anyone? I can't imagine Balance would be that big a deal for them. You did note the remarks from GEN Dempsey* about the apps.

The only reason I noted the numbers was that the BBRY release was exactly 10% of the total. I thought that was strange. Sorry if I didn't explain that well.

I know GEN Dempsey (barely) from years ago. I'm sure those were the talking points someone gave him. Not a knock on him, just sounds too canned.

.... Third, I've carried an Army issued Blackberry. I was not allowed, by policy, to add anything to the phone....

F

I think the game-changer here is balance. Your old blackberry didn't have balance and so everything on your blackberry had access to everything.

Admittedly my firm's security needs are nowhere near those of the DoD, however, with my BB7 work phone I was previously not allowed access to BlackBerry World at all either. With BES10 and BB10 I can now do whatever I like on the personal side of the phone, while they have selected applications that appear in the BlackBerry World on the work side.

If you haven't used the balance feature yet, it is quite significant. There are two phones on my phone... One has zero access to the other. I can download porn and malware to the personal side and when I get fired for going awol, they can wipe everything on the work side with my pornography still intact.

If BlackBerry Balance has been specifically approved, this 'may' be quite disruptive to the traditional way of thinking at DoD.

Of course Balance has relevance. I think it will be great for non-DOD enterprise. That said, DoD tests all kinds of things that they never use. Heck, they spend billions on things that they never buy. Comanche anyone? I can't imagine Balance would be that big a deal for them. You did note the remarks from GEN Dempsey* about the apps.

The only reason I noted the numbers was that the BBRY release was exactly 10% of the total. I thought that was strange. Sorry if I didn't explain that well.

I know GEN Dempsey (barely) from years ago. I'm sure those were the talking points someone gave him. Not a knock on him, just sounds too canned.

The 'federated app store' could be for the work side of the phone with Balance?
And for the entire phone that does not have Balance?

With respect to the numbers, I think 10000 is THE number. The 30000 number is based on the time left in this year, and doesn't have anything to do with the total.

The contract also calls for DMI to set up and operate a mobile software applications store for use by Defense users.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a speech Thursday at the Brookings Institution that “a federated app store will allow any DoD user to write and share phone and tablet apps. By using off-the-shelf technology, we are bringing the full force of the tech revolution into the classified environment.”

Dempsey said Defense is “building a secure 4G wireless network that will get iPads, iPhones, and Android devices online by mid-2014.” Mobile technology will “help us pioneer a new era of mobile command and control. This revolution will empower our greatest resource—the ingenuity of our people—and the philosophy of mission command we embrace,” Dempsey said.

When the Pentagon released its mobile device plan in February, Teri Takai, Defense’s chief information officer, said “the application of mobile technology into global operations, integration of secure and non-secure communications, and development of portable, cloud-enabled capability will dramatically increase the number of people able to collaborate and share information rapidly.”

Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins, DISA director, noted the security the new system will offer: “With the mobile device management system and mobile application store, we will be able to manage devices and the applications that our warfighters use while ensuring our networks and information are secure and protected.”

DISA said it planned to use mobile device management software to act as a “traffic cop” for mobile phones and computers connected to its network when it launched the procurement last October.

The management software, DISA said, should institute “policy, security and permissions that define the functions the user is enabled to conduct on the mobile device. This capability ensures the security of the entire user community is not compromised by an incorrectly configured device.”

DISA also wanted software that could remotely wipe software on any tablet or phone connected to its networks.

The management software will also allow Defense to distribute applications from the app store over-the-air and “update and delete applications on the mobile device without the mobile device user having to return the device for service,” DISA said.

The management software should support 100,000 smartphones or tablets in the first year of operation and 300,000 in the third year, or all Defense mobile users, DISA said.

Looks like they will have approx 30k out of the 100k first year no? Now I realize this is not the 80 percent they have now, but Dod is moving the a multiple platform future as they have repeatedly stated. I personally believe BBRY will receive a larger than proportional share of this due to their secure reputation. 30 percent of the first 100k in addition to their currently installed base is a good start. Then when the other depts realize what they cant do with their iphone or gs3 or 4 because of the limitations outlined in the STIGs, they may be wanting to go back to bb, which I realize will take awhile to cycle the products through. I belive you are correct about the app store, i think that from what I have gathered users will only be able to access the apps in DISAs app store, but hey, I'm no expert but I have scoured the far corners of the internet on this particular topic over the past few months. Man was that a pain to type on this iphone pos!

I think the game-changer here is balance. Your old blackberry didn't have balance and so everything on your blackberry had access to everything.

Admittedly my firm's security needs are nowhere near those of the DoD, however, with my BB7 work phone I was previously not allowed access to BlackBerry World at all either. With BES10 and BB10 I can now do whatever I like on the personal side of the phone, while they have selected applications that appear in the BlackBerry World on the work side.

If you haven't used the balance feature yet, it is quite significant. There are two phones on my phone... One has zero access to the other. I can download porn and malware to the personal side and when I get fired for going awol, they can wipe everything on the work side with my pornography still intact.

If BlackBerry Balance has been specifically approved, this 'may' be quite disruptive to the traditional way of thinking at DoD.

Thanks for explaining it so well.
I was going to use the same porn example in my post above, but decided that someone with experience would probably do it better than me (I mean experience with Balance)
:-)

I think the game-changer here is balance. Your old blackberry didn't have balance and so everything on your blackberry had access to everything.

Admittedly my firm's security needs are nowhere near those of the DoD, however, with my BB7 work phone I was previously not allowed access to BlackBerry World at all either. With BES10 and BB10 I can now do whatever I like on the personal side of the phone, while they have selected applications that appear in the BlackBerry World on the work side.

If you haven't used the balance feature yet, it is quite significant. There are two phones on my phone... One has zero access to the other. I can download porn and malware to the personal side and when I get fired for going awol, they can wipe everything on the work side with my pornography still intact.

If BlackBerry Balance has been specifically approved, this 'may' be quite disruptive to the traditional way of thinking at DoD.

Maybe the DoD is not going to implement balance but lock down the device in work only mode. I believe this is possible but it is a feature you pay the carrier for. Could someone provide the name of this feature?

I can't see why the DoD would allow personnel to use the device personally. The person could physically damage the phone which is typically a black slab with glass on one side. In addition, if you download port on the personal side doesn't that use DoD 's data plan which means you are using taxpayers' funds for porn?

I think the game-changer here is balance. Your old blackberry didn't have balance and so everything on your blackberry had access to everything.

Admittedly my firm's security needs are nowhere near those of the DoD, however, with my BB7 work phone I was previously not allowed access to BlackBerry World at all either. With BES10 and BB10 I can now do whatever I like on the personal side of the phone, while they have selected applications that appear in the BlackBerry World on the work side.

If you haven't used the balance feature yet, it is quite significant. There are two phones on my phone... One has zero access to the other. I can download porn and malware to the personal side and when I get fired for going awol, they can wipe everything on the work side with my pornography still intact.

If BlackBerry Balance has been specifically approved, this 'may' be quite disruptive to the traditional way of thinking at DoD.

Hi M1A1MG Please see the Bold line in this message and that may satisfy the point that you were trying to make about apps?

The release today suggested up to 30k BlackBerry by end of year. End of year is only 4-5 months away. Leaving 7-8 months to fill in the rest of the 100k for first year.

I would assume that the roll-out would become quicker as it is launched. Though, it's also reasonable to expect that not all of the devices will be BlackBerry. Part of the benefit of BES10 is the multiplatform support.

Of course I would love to see as many BlackBerry device sales as possible, it is less important from a profitability standpoint, IMO, than the BES10 licenses.

Though, even that is uncertain based on the vague amount of confirmations we have.

Maybe the DoD is not going to implement balance but lock down the device in work only mode. I believe this is possible but it is a feature you pay the carrier for. Could someone provide the name of this feature?

I can't see why the DoD would allow personnel to use the device personally. The person could physically damage the phone which is typically a black slab with glass on one side. In addition, if you download port on the personal side doesn't that use DoD 's data plan which means you are using taxpayers' funds for porn?

I'm sure it all depends upon your security clearance. Not everyone will have the same freedoms because of their clearance level and their locations. Balance may work when you are at home, but as soon as you walk onto a secure facility the personal 1/2 of your phone may cease to function until you leave again.

I wouldnt mind seeing a 22inch blackberry desktop (bb10 hdmi connected monitor) which i think already exists. The only thing it wouldnt be able to able handle is CAD type files. This gives me blackberry desktop browser. Most of the latest monitors have dual in already with hdmi option. Thats what TH already talking about. IMO blackberry is a software company first and microsoft first and apple is the second competition in near future.

BBRY cannot even manage deviating from 720p for their upcoming phablet. Apparently potential developers were promised this resolution (and 720 square for Qs) to simplify development efforts.

How in the heck can you jump from this reality to the great bright future where you just plug in your handset and have a usable desktop environment? They couldn't even hang on in the tablet market and believe me, the changes for a keyboard/mouse/large screen environment would make the adaptations they failed to accomplish there look like child's play.

It will all depend on how the phone is set up. For example, every computer that is on the DoD network is scanned for non-DoD approved software. Even programs like CCleaner will get you in big trouble.

Dusdal and blackistheberry, I got HOW Balance works. It's a great idea. But it's not how DoD works. It's not about what you want. It's not about making people happy. It's about a device that does a job that DoD wants you to do.

Take99, if I read the BBRY release, it could be up to 30% this year. Not really sure about that.

What I've been reading about where the DoD is going with this is a huge change from where they've been. On my last Army installation, the local G6 (Signal guys) and the Network Enterprise Center managed the cell phone contract. Now, they all used Blackberry since that was the choice, but the phones were provided by Sprint and then Verizon. E-mail was managed by the NEC, but this is moving to a national service. Phone calls were still run through the carrier.